Ameland Beach Rugby Festival #Lifeasanyenrodian

Rany Skaff, Vice Chairman of the Rugby Board, shares his experience during a weekend of rugby matches and fun at the beach.

''June 16-18, 2017, a weekend during which Rugby Club Nijenrode was to represent Nyenrode at the annual beach rugby tournament on Ameland. 127 teams had signed up to play at the tournament, ranging from beginners to professional teams. It all started on Friday, June 16. After our Mergers & Acquisitions class, it was time to pile into the car and make the 3-hour drive up to Ameland. 24 men were looking forward to a guys-only weekend at last, during which we could enjoy ourselves, have fun and play a few games of rugby. We arrived at around 8 pm and immediately got to work setting up our army tent, filling the fridges with the drinks and meat we had brought with us. After an hour of hard work together, it was time to have some fun. A few beers and a few hours later, we went to a beach bar where there was music, dancing and enough people to have an amazing night.

Saturday morning, 9 am, the first people awoke, admittedly with some difficulty. We were expected on the beach for our first game at 10.45 am already. After boosting our energy with cheese and chicken sandwiches, it was time to walk to the beach. This was our first of six matches in total. The first match was a practice to get used to playing on the beach. It lasted 15 minutes. We, as a team, had never played on the beach. We quickly got used to it and won our first game, against a German team, by a score of 8-0.

By the end of the day, we were all exhausted. We had played against six very good teams and won three of our six matches. After all the games, we sat in the sun and started bandying about accusations of terrible tackles, passes, etc. The chairman of the Rugby board decided to settle these accusations on the court where the chairman is the judge. After an hour, it was time to return to the campground. In the evening, we had a barbecue planned with the Utrechtse Studenten Rugby Society. This was an unforgettable evening during which we really bonded with the players of USRS.

On Sunday, there were a few matches in the knock-out phase, but as the tournament’s organizers were already aware, Nijenrode Rugby never plays on Sundays. So, lucky us, we did not have to play, we started our packing and left the island to return to the estate.

This was an amazing weekend during which we really bonded and got to know each other better. I would definitely recommend this weekend for any man who enjoys a bit of rugby!''

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